Abdominal supporter.



PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908.

L. ROSS.

ABDOMINAL SUPPORTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1907= 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

wbamoz N. 896,583. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908. L. ROSS.

ABDOMINAL SUPPORTE R.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 anvewtoz 7 KG & w v %y {I a/ attomwx o No. 896,583. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908. L. ROSS.

ABDOMINAL SUPPORTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

i ii! llll from the fabric of which the supporter is edge of the strip wider than the top edge.

and afford eiiicient sup ort to the abdomen straight,- not a diagonal, line of the fabric LYDIA ROSS, OF WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

ABDOMINAL sorronrsn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

Application filed. May 20, 1907. Serial No. 374,665.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LYDIA Ross, a citizen of the United States, and resident of VVatertown, county of ll'liddlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Abdominal Supporters, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is the construction of an abdominal supporter upon anatomical lines which shall accurately fit the body, shall remain in position without perineal stra s, shall allow free play to the muscles user in holding the body upright, shall avoid downward pressure upon viscera and its contents by (rawing comfortably upon the strong, well covered pelvic bones. Provision is also made for the avoidance of the stretching of the goods of which the supporter is made.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of my improved abdominal supporter upon the person. of the wearer; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the supporter; Fig. 3 is a view of the several stri s or pieces used in the construction of tiie back of the supporter; Fig. 4 is a similar view of the pieces used in the construction of the"front of a su porter; Fig. 5 is an elevation ofone end of the back illustrating the manner of attaching the buckles. Fig. 6 is a view of the pieces used in the con struction of the front of a supporter, embodying the present invention, for a rounded abdomen. rig. 7 is a view of the front of the supporter for a rounded abdomen.

5 In cutting out the several strips or pieces made, straight lines (so designated) are cut with or along the weft of the fabric and at right angles to the warp, or vice versa, in order, as will hereafter appear, that the prevailing line of tension of the finished garment around thebody shall come upon a weave, especially in the back which is without straps or any transverse reinforce. Beginning with one of the two back middle strips a, a, of the supporter, I cut it with a straight front edge on a thread of the goods while the back edge I out with a slight slant or curve upwards, thus making the bottom The two'curved edges of the two back middle strips a and a/ areunited in a seam which will conform to thecurve of the sacrum be- ,tween the broad iliac bones of the pelvis.

The next strip 1) (confining myself now to one-half of the back of the garment, for the two halves, are alike), I also cut with thefront edge straight and the back edge in a large full curve backward, to accommodate the fullness of the buttocks, leaving the bottom edge of the strip wider than the top edge, asis the case with all the strips of the back; and the back curved edge of?) I sew to the straight edge of (1. Strip 0 is alsocut with the front edge straight and the other edge curved, and the curved edge of strip 0 is sewed to the straight edge of strip 6. Proceeding with the cutting I next cut strips cl, e, and f, all with a straight front edge and a curved back edge, sewing as before the curved edge of each to the preceding straight edge. Vi e have now completed the-cutting and making up for one-half of what 1 term the back of the garment, although. the pieces or strips 6, f,'come well round upon the side and front of the body, a. comparatively perpendicular portion of the normal figure. The other half of the back of the garment is cut and Tsewed together in the same way, the curved edge of back strip a, as stated above, being sewed to the similar curved edge u won the similar back strip 0/, and the two e g es being united ina seam adapted to conform to the sacral curve of the figure.

The above described method of cutting a stri with thefront edge straight and the bee; edge extended and joining a straight front edge to an extended back edge, in

making the back, instead of distributing the necessary fullness to both side edges, results not only, as stated above, in bringing the strain or tension ofthegarment around the back in a line parallel to the threads of the fabric so that there can be no stretching of the structure, and while also throwing aneasy fullness of the supporter well back, thus providing room for the tree lay of the prominent buttock muscles, whic act to maintain the upright position of the body and to overcome the tendency of the closely-fitting supporter to push up out of place in wearing.- This results in the forward edges of the strips I f, f, being set on the side of the body at a i slight. overhanging incline toward the :side edges of the front which are, as will "be shown;

ata somewhat lower level on the bodythan thesid'e edges ofithe back- Passing now to the "front of thesupporter Where the fullness to be provided for is upward from the pubic bones towards the waist instead of downwards from below the ing together the strips of fabric, a straight edge being sewed to a curved edge. I cut the front in three pieces, the warp and weft of the fabric being observed in cuttin straight lines. The two outside pieces h, h have both side edges straight. The middle piece g, has both side edges curved so that a strip two inches Wide at the pubic bones will be, say, three inches wide at the top line, or the middle strip may be considered as two pieces, with the two inner straight edges sewed together and the outside edges curved. The bottom edges of the middle and outside strips conform, the former to the pubic bones and the latter to the junction of the thigh with the trunk. The longer straight edge of an outside strip is sewed to the curved edge of the middle strip. The strips h, h, are, of course, shorter than the middle strip g. And so, too, it should be stated the strips f, f of the back, which when the garment is completed are contiguous to the strips h, h, and by a system of buckles and straps receive the whole strain of the front upon the back, are only of the same length as the strips h, h.

In constructing a supporter for an enlarged abdomen thefront is preferably made as indicated in Figs. 6 and 7 wherein G is the middle strip hereinbefore described, 9 being the gore therein, H, H the two side strips having both edges straight and J, J the two inserted strips having both edges on a curve.

The smoothness of the fit of the garment is preserved by vertical bones or steels t, t, t, etc., inserted in pockets along the upright seams that have been described as made between the different strips of fabric, the said pockets being made from superfluous cloth at said scams, or formed of independent strips of fabric sewed upon the several scams. The front parts of the side strips or pieces f, have a number of these bones or steels, as shown, to provide supporting value to what would otl'ierwise be aweak place under the straps and buckles, the method of attaching which will now be. described. The said straps (I find. four on each side an average number) are secured at more or less intervals across the front by stitching. The lower strap A is secured at the lower front center line of the front, 'i. a. the center line of strip and carried. diagonally upward across the front (the necessary folds being made in the straps), lollowlng the general cut ol the lower edge of the front across strips It, It,

and extending in free ends at an upward angle from the outer side edges of the strips h, 7t, to meet two buckles K, K, which are secured to the strips f,f as will be described. The next strap B is similarly secured across the front not quite parallelto strap A, be ing in a little nearer direct line across the front, and has freeends to meet similar buckles L, L, while succeeding straps C and D, and more if necessary, are likewise secured, but in still nearer transverse lines across the abdomen, and with their free ends at a less angle, their number depending upon the prominence of the abdomen, and upon the necessary depth of the front required for a fit.

The buckles K, K, L,'L, etc., are' secured to one of the boned seams at the middle of said strips f, f, by short straps similar to those attached to the front of the garment, but herein termed attaching straps to distinguish the two sets from one another, each said attaching strap being sewed to its stripf or f 'at a right angle to a seam or pocket for a boned u right it, in said strip and then within .the buc le (which is held at a downward angle to accurately meet the free end of its respective stra from the front) turned back upon itse f and carried diagonall up and back to the seam or pocket, thus he din the buckle at a proper angle to meet the pull of the "front straps and securing a wide, evenly distributed pull around the stron well covered bony pelvis, the line of the pul being below the ihac crest at the sides and thus avoiding compression of the abdominal wall above said crest. Byreason f the slight set out of the )iecesf,f, and es ecially because of the angles at which the buckles are set to meet the free ends of the straps stitched across the front at a lower level and slanting upwards (but in a decreasing degree) the horizontal line of tension around the elvis at the back is deflected to a more or ess upward and lifting pull upon the itraps.

The bones t, t, 15, inserted in the poo ets of the back and the front besides preserving the original shape of the sup orter-in wear, tend to distribute the strain 0 any one set of buckles and straps over the entire supporter.

Garter straps or with my improved abdominal supporter in manycases with advantage. They should be secured to the sides of the back, preferably at a", c, but may be secured to the front at g or to both a", e" and g; for garters when attached to the front cxc'rcise no depressin ell'cct upon the contents of the abdomen suc as results from attaching garters to a corset and throwing the strain upon the waist, and when attached to the back they assist in holding the fullness of the lower edge of the back in place, as described, and in keeping the lower edge of the front taut. The garter straps to which garters (not shown) may be attached are marked. lt, It, etc.

hose supporters are used- -straps extending across the front section, se-

cured to the bones thereof, and slanting, np Wards at each end of the front section at angles decreasing from bottom to top, and buckles carried by the back section and arranged at different angles from one another but each at right angles to the line of one of the straps. v

2. An abdominal supporter consisting of afront and a back section the latter consisting of a series of pieces of fabric, the front edge of each piece being-parallel to the line of threads of the fabric While the opposite edge is curved 20 from the bottom towards the top thereby roviding for the fit of the back, end the 'ormer consisting of three pieces of fabric both edges of the outside pieces being parallel to the line of the threads, while the inner 25 piece is curved on both edges from the top towards the bottom thereby providing for the fit of the front, bones at the meeting edges of the pieces of fabric in each section,

and means for connecting the two sections it so their contiguous sides. 7

In testimony whereotl eiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LYDIA ROSS.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM W.'SWAN, IDA E. HANDREN, 

